Saudi's Jabal Omar picks two banks for sukuk sale early next year -sources

DUBAI, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Jabal Omar Development Co, one of the country’s largest listed property developers, has hired two banks to manage a sukuk sale which could exceed 4 billion riyals ($1.07 billion) and is likely to take place in the first quarter of 2018, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The company, which is building a series of developments in Mecca, has hired Bank Albilad and GIB Capital to arrange the planned Islamic bond issue, said the sources, declining to be named because the matter is private.

Jabal Omar could raise the funds through one or two sukuk issues, one of the sources said. The company and the banks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The sukuk would be among just a few corporate debt sales expected over the next few months in the Saudi domestic bond market, which is still largely dominated by government bonds. The government has issued a total of 47 billion riyals through monthly sukuk sales since July, and is likely to continue to issue sukuk on a monthly basis.

Jabal Omar’s flagship Mecca development project includes residential units, hotels and commercial malls over an area of 23,000 square metres.

The company has raised a number of large bank loans over the past few years, and the sukuk proceeds would partly be used to refinance its existing bank debt, said the sources. The issuance is likely to be absorbed by the company’s existing relationship banks, sources told Reuters in August. (Editing by Andrew Torchia)